Combating Student Plagiarism February 27, 2009 Rozell Duncan Assistant Professor Communications Studies Rob Kairis Library Director Stark Campus Edith Scarletto Head, Map Library Libraries & Media Services

Combating Student Plagiarism – Principles … Overview Orientation Education/Integration Prevention Consistency Rehabilitation

Combating Student Plagiarism – Principles … Orientation Website for Plagiarism Workshop Survey student attitudes about plagiarism Discussion of the ethical implications of plagiarizing An overview of the university policy Practical (common sense) ways to avoid plagiarism Discussion of how students plagiarize (case studies) FYE Avoiding Plagiarism Online Tutorial

Combating Student Plagiarism – Principles … Education/Integration Find the proper course within the discipline where plagiarism could be more fully discussed Provide a specific definition for plagiarism within the discipline Develop strategies for educating students about plagiarism within the context of the discipline (create specific assignments) Discuss ways that plagiarism could be included in subsequent courses in the discipline Plagiarism must be discussed in the context of each level of the discipline. Just as you know students don’t learn one skill and then not need to practice or review it in their academic careers, Orientation discussions of university plagiarism guidelines/ standards will likely need to be repeated in your courses. The definition of plagiarism and it’s application to your discipline may be different than in others. Talk about it in the context of your course, research methods, the writing intensive sections, and presentation/ senior seminars. At each level the stakes are higher, and the research more complex leaving more room for student confusion- and a greater need for guidance. Get together with your colleagues to discuss the best way to address plagiarism in your discipline. Lecturing may not be enough. Concrete examples and case study exercises can be much more meaningful for students. Try using some of the tutorials Rozell will talk about. Perhaps do the first one aloud in class and then have students come back with questions after they try them out. Paraphrasing is one of the hardest skills students learn. They are insecure about their knowledge of the discipline and most don’t question what published authors are saying. Incidences of accidental plagiarism may be avoided by talking about or demonstrating how to discuss other’s work without using their exact words. What else can you do for prevention? Talk about citation styles and requirements. Try not to blame citation mistakes on plagiarism. Failing to cite a source is one thing, putting the date in the wrong place is another. Encourage students to seek citation help when needed (we all know they read like stereo instructions the first couple times through). Use tools like RefWorks to encourage easy note taking for sources and citations. Ask for a librarian’s help if you want provide instructions for students. This is just another academic skill that needs to be reinforced, and it can’t be learned in a day.

Combating Student Plagiarism – Principles … Prevention Differentiate between citation requirements and plagiarism. Software as tools to improve writing skills: Refworks Turnitin Web Portal for tools, tips, and sample exercises to help students learn skills such as how to paraphrase properly Tools such as Refworks can help students manage information and prevent accidental plagiarism. TurnitIn is a tool that helps to detect plagiarism by keeping a database of student work and comparing new papers to old ones; web resources; some electronic journals. It is most often effective when applied to an entire group of students; and when used with its learning tool options, allowing students to see where questionable material is within a draft and working to correct those mistakes. It is least effective when used as an ad hoc detection device only; the sources it uses are not exhaustive and not institution specific.

Teaching Tools Combating Student Plagiarism – Principles … Web sites and tutorials: http://www.library.kent.edu/page/11299#tutor http://library.camden.rutgers.edu/EducationalModule/Plagiarism/whatisplagiarism.html http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/ http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb In-class assignments: Analyze student papers Note-taking tips Evaluating electronic sources

Combating Student Plagiarism – Principles … Consistency Uniform interpretation of university’s definition of plagiarism “Plagiarism is using someone else’s work – words, ideas, or illustrations; published or unpublished – without giving the creator of that work sufficient credit.” (Stern, 2007, p. 1) How to be consistent in application of university’s policy Implementation of effective rehabilitation Matrix of appropriate sanctions

Combating Student Plagiarism – Principles … Rehabilitation “Plagiarism School” Modeled after “Traffic School” Started at Stark Spring 2006 (1 case) 10 Students in 2007 4 Students in 2008 2 Students so far 2009 2 Students from Kent (1 from Judicial Affairs) The Program Plagiarized assignment University Policy Case Studies Homework (“spot” the plagiarism)

Combating Student Plagiarism – Principles … References Stern, L. (2007). What every student should know about avoiding plagiarism. New York: Pearson Education Inc.

Combating Student Plagiarism February 29, 2008 Rozell Duncan Assistant Professor Communications Studies Rob Kairis Library Director Stark Campus Edith Scarletto Head, Map Library Libraries & Media Services